The City had been ravaged by the Great 1906 Earthquake and Fire. Over 3,000 lives had been lost and as many as ten times that number were left homeless out of a population of about 410,000.

A mere nine years later, three of which were used to build it, the Panama Pacific International Exposition opened. It was a celebration of the completion of the Panama Canal, an amusement park, technology showcase and an assertion that the West could rival the East when it came to putting on an international exposition.
A giant Underwood typewriter clacked out the day’s headlines, visitors could ride in a biplane, visit the Liberty Bell (on loan from Philadelphia) and visit the Palace of Varied Industries or Mines and Metallurgy Palace.

The tallest building was the 435 foot tall Tower of Jewels. Decorated with 102,000 Novagems—colorful cut glass — the building would shimmer in the coastal breeze. The tower was at the main entrance on Scott Street between the Presido and Fort Mason.

It looks like some of these photos were made during a July 4th parade. Men in top hats sit in the back of a convertible car, Stars and Stripes line the streets. Parade watchers look out over the Owl Drug Store and the Hotel Corona.

One float appears to carry the Liberty Bell above a floral flag and escorted by policemen in white gloves.

Riflemen in dress uniforms march down the street though I am not clear if these are Marines or Army. Perhaps a better student of formal dress uniforms can help out with a comment.

The fair ran from February 20th to December 4th 1915.
The Palace of Fine Arts is the only remaining building.

These images come from a collection of large format negatives in the Tribune library. They were enclosed in a 1950s era Telegram-Tribune window envelope, labeled “Mrs. Leonard.”

Two of the collection’s fourteen images are of the Santa Manuela school where Lopez Lake is today. That school building was constructed in 1901 and in the photos the site looks established but still relatively new. Only one image in the collection is dated, 1908, another is from the Arroyo Grande flood of 1914 and one is of an early century baseball team.
It was San Francisco’s grand coming out party. The City had been ravaged by the Great 1906 Earthquake and Fire. Over 3,000 lives had been lost and as many as ten times that number were left homeless out of a population of about 410,000. A mere nine years later, three of which were used to build it, the Panama Pacific International Exposition opened. It was a celebration of the completion of the Panama Canal, an amusement park, technology showcase and an assertion that the West could rival the East when it came to putting on an international exposition.
A giant Underwood typewriter clacked out the day’s headlines, visitors could ride in a biplane, visit the Liberty Bell (on loan from Philadelphia) and visit the Palace of Varied Industries or Mines and Metallurgy Palace. The tallest building was the 435 foot tall Tower of Jewels. Decorated with 102,000 Novagems—colorful cut glass — the building would shimmer in the coastal breeze. The tower was at the main entrance on Scott Street between the Presido and Fort Mason.

It looks like some of these photos were made during a July 4th parade. Men in top hats sit in the back of a convertible car, Stars and Stripes line the streets. Parade watchers look out over the Owl Drug Store and the Hotel Corona. One float appears to carry the Liberty Bell above a floral flag and escorted by policemen in white gloves.Riflemen in dress uniforms march down the street though I am not clear if these are Marines or Army. Perhaps a better student of formal dress uniforms can help out with a comment.The fair ran from February 20th to December 4th 1915.The Palace of Fine Arts is the only remaining building.

The images come from a collection of large format negatives in the Tribune library. They were enclosed in a 1950s era Telegram-Tribune window envelope, labeled “Mrs. Leonard.” The images however are decades older.

How old?

Two of the collection’s fourteen images are of the Santa Manuela school where Lopez Lake is today. That school building was constructed in 1901 and in the photos the site looks established but still relatively new. Only one image in the collection is dated, 1908, another is from the Arroyo Grande flood of 1914 and one is of an early century baseball team.

My grandparents and six sons attended the 1915 Panama Centennial in San Francisco traveling from Oklahoma to San Francisco, taking a souther route and returning on a northern route. They collected postcards and other memorabilia which I have as well as memoirs from two of the sons. I have a manuscript based on this information. Would this be of interest for any centennial celebrations being planned?